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by lovetree



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-21
Updated: 2016-08-21
Packaged: 2018-08-10 03:06:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7828045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovetree/pseuds/lovetree
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>some headcanons that turned into a vague, brief narrative. kind of shippy? mostly just people learning how to be around each other when they find they like it better than being alone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Home

Junkrat is very handy, but only when it interests him, or if it's absolutely necessary. His work is done primarily with function in mind, but when it's finished, he's all about personal touches; his artwork, as it were, is slapdash and graphic, done quickly and emphatically. Most everything he owns is something he's made himself or customized extensively, distinctively marked as his. He takes great pride in his work. 

As a person, he's in constant motion. Always has to be doing something, gets irritable and nervy if he's not. Very rarely comfortable with quiet, so he chatters incessantly. Part of his need for complete mental engagement is that it helps keep the whirlwind of his own emotions closer to the back of his mind. There's no controlling them otherwise, and he resents how weak and exposed it makes him feel; so he masks it the only way he can in a pinch, with petulance or bravado. It takes a lot of trust or extreme exhaustion for him to drop the act. He cracks a lot of bad jokes, all too frequently to the point of being unfunny, and generally has no filter. He can't really help it, doesn't care to try. Picks fights like he's far bigger than he is, has gotten his ass handed to him innumerable times; but he's clever enough to have come out on top often enough to still be around. 

Despite having spent most of his life taking care of himself, without any close friends to rely on (most people dislike him right off the bat, and the rest can only take so much of him at once), he takes well to having Roadhog along. The guy is the human embodiment of a brick wall in a multitude of ways, and Junkrat can appreciate that. He has a higher tolerance for Junkrat than anyone else, seemingly unbothered by most things; it's hard to really tell since he doesn't talk much and is always wearing a mask, but it's also pretty clear when he's actually angry. Junkrat knows that the only reason Roadhog teamed up with him in the first place was the pay, but he's stuck around for a while now, and Junkrat has gotten attached. In the back of his mind, he hates this too, how easily he lets his guard down. It's stupid. He can't help it any more than he can help anything else he feels. But Roadhog hasn't fucked him over yet, so there's that. And he doesn't bat a proverbial eye when Junkrat starts calling him friend.

Roadhog has been a mercenary for close to 20 years now. He's big, stoic, and well-armed, which makes him intimidating, which gets him as much work as he could want. He's heard plenty about the scrawny junker who struck gold in the ruins of the Omnium before he gets hired to track his sorry ass down. When he finds Junkrat, he gets a counter offer. It's a long shot, and the fugitive, despite his attempts to hide his panic behind a pretense of humor, would clearly say anything to stay free. But Roadhog's gut tells him to agree to it. So he does. Later he thinks about the repercussions of joining up with a man everyone wants violently to get their hands on, and regrets it, but the more time he spends with Junkrat the more he thinks it might have been a good decision after all. They pull off a lot of jobs and make plenty of money. He even has a little fun. It's certainly a challenge to keep Junkrat alive, and he suspects the little shit is taking greater risks now that he has a mountain of a bodyguard at his back, but Roadhog can't bring himself to be too irritated by it. He still tells him off for it, but continues to pull his ass out of the fire on a regular basis. He wonders how much self-preservation instinct the fucker had to begin with. Probably not much. Over time Roadhog learns that he's not afraid of death so much as captivity. 

Still, they work well together. Roadhog is surprised by how much he enjoys having a partner. That's what Junkrat is, really, even though he's technically another employer. He doesn't feel like one. 

They become fiercely protective of each other. Junkrat is vocal and reckless, while Roadhog, as always, lets his actions speak for him. Junkrat notices, starts to wonder why, if it' s just the money or if the big lug actually gives a shit about what happens to him. God knows 'Hog would never come out and say anything like that; the thought probably wouldn't cross his mind, even if he did care. Still, it eats away at Junkrat. His craving for validation makes him sick. He doesn't _need_ anyone, but more and more he finds himself relying--in a variety of ways--on a man who's just supposed to be a business partner. He hates it, hates it, hates it. He shouldn't be like this. It was simpler when he was on his own. 

He decides he knows what the answer to the question would be, so he doesn’t ask.

Roadhog does care. It's been a long time since anyone had stirred that in him. It's not about money anymore; they've gotten plenty of that. He's still there because he doesn't want to lose someone who's become so important to him. He sees Jamie getting antsy, a little testy, uncertain. The way he looks at 'Hog sometimes. He doesn't withdraw from him, but it's clear he's scanning for something--something he won't say aloud, for once. 

Roadhog isn't good at saying things. It's uncomfortable, ambiguous in his mind; he can't express complexity effectively in words. So he thinks about it. And when it's just him and Jamie, he starts taking the mask off. It feels wrong, initially; it's the only face he ever shows anyone, a distance he's accustomed to, a part of who he is now. But he trusts the scrawny little rat, and again, he feels in his gut that it's something he should do.

Junkrat is speechless at first. Mako wonders if he's made a mistake. Then Jamie goes back about his business, chattering away, but it's like a weight's been lifted off his shoulders. He's bouncier, cracks more horrible jokes, gives more friendly touches that Mako doesn't mind...and it feels strangely like home.

**Author's Note:**

> switched around name use according to familiarity and comfort level. also, i hc junkrat as neurodivergent, not gonna specify a diagnosis bc tbh im not sure?? but i am projecting some of my own symptoms here.
> 
> i've edited this several times since i first posted it but i think i'm done with it now ;)


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